Associate Research Scholar, Trace Metals Group, Princeton University

I am an associate research scholar in François Morel's trace metal research group in the Geosciences department at Princeton University. Here, I use interdisciplinary tools to study the principles guiding the structure, function, and evolution of microbes important for biogeochemical cycles. I obtained a B.S. in Biological & Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in 2004 and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2010.

My specific scientific pursuits have evolved over time but at a broad scale they are all motivated by my fascination how the physical environment interacts with microbiology on both short (transcriptional) and long (evolutionary) timescales.

Ongoing Research Projects:

Trace metals in biological N2 fixation (BNF): BNF, a key reaction controlling the fertility of natural and managed ecosystems, is catalyzed by nitrogenase. This enzyme exists in the canonical form containing Mo and alternative isozymic forms containing V or only Fe in the active site. The controls on BNF in its different metalloenzyme forms are not well understood, in part due to a lack of methods. I have developed a method that distinguishes the activity of Mo, V, and Fe-only nitrogenases and am now applying the method to BNF in the field and in the laboratory to better constrain how the cycles of nitrogen and catalytic trace metals are coupled.